Port Washington

Elevating the Center's website by prioritizing user needs, leading to a revamped website, streamlined payments, and expanded services — culminating in an improved experience for clients and donors alike.

Port Washington:
Amplifying User Engagement

UX Architect and Researcher

My Role

Laiba Sarwar

Esha Mohol

Bhavna Paikattil

Julia Maloof

Team

2023 (3 months)

Duration

Client Kickoff Interview

Research Outreach

Interviews and Survey

Insight Synthesis

Client Presentation and Feedback

Process

Conducting usability testing on the Port Washington Children's Center website, engaging a diverse participant group to assess user experience in tasks such as finding tuition information, making donations, and exploring enrollment options.

Objective

Community Programs

Industry

Usability Testing

Task

Figma

Miro

Tools

Port Washington Children’s Center (PWCC) approached our team with the goal of improving its website to suit its clients and attract potential donors. Some of the goals the organization presented included: getting feedback on the design and content of the site, keeping the information concise and clear, and identifying ways to reduce bounce rates of parents of children in the Port Washington Children’s Center and potential donors.

Problem

Revolutionizing the Port Washington Children's Center's digital presence, the strategy focused on user needs, resulting in a revamped website, streamlined payments, and expanded services. Key recommendations include prioritizing long-term programs on the homepage, improving payment design consistency with clear information and warnings about third-party services, and enhancing the enrollment process by creating separate pages for each program with detailed information. These changes aim to provide an improved online experience for both clients and donors, addressing usability issues identified through comprehensive research and testing.

Solution

Current Website

01. DISCOVERY

Methodology

For our research, we conducted Moderated Remote Usability Testing with parents of PWCC’s community and other parents residing in New York City. Remote moderated usability testing is a type of usability testing in which a moderator facilitates the testing process and guides the participants through the tasks, on an online video-conferencing platform.

As a team we remotely conducted a total of 8 interviews over Zoom, which were conducted in pairs, taking turns to moderate and take notes. The usability test focused on 4 main tasks keeping in mind usability parameters such as website navigation, the clarity and tone of labels and content, readability of information, the use of imagery, and other such visual design cues.

Participants

With this study we interviewed eight participants total to get an overall sense of the population and views of the parents who were currently and previously using the Port Washington Child Center Website most frequently.

All participants were parents of small children. Four of the participants, or 50% of them had babies, 18-36 months old. Multiple of our participants had difficulty connecting with the wifi and often had to reschedule, leading to an understanding that the website may not be as effective without a focus on free wifi or public resource enhancement as well for their clientele.

02. FINDINGS

Summary of Findings

Users enjoyed the look and feel of the website, particularly the photos of the children and their activities.
The gallery and new/upcoming photos of the center's activities were the most mentioned sections of the website.
The majority of users accessed the website via their mobile phones, highlighting the need for a strong mobile design.
Navigation and language on the site were generally easy to follow, and users were able to complete tasks quickly.
Activities provided by the center were one of the most important things to users, and information about them was a key reason for accessing the site.
Users were most interested in finding out which activities were being provided, as well as details such as the Calendar of Events, activity schedule, and transportation information.
The FAQs on the homepage were useful and easy to use.
Researchers identified issues with mobile design, third-party accessibility, and the program enrollment process that need to be addressed.

After analyzing the research, we found that some main problems had to do with the information layout, the donation pages, and how the programs should be detailed. We have listed the research in our report and presentation slides here.

03. TAKEAWAYS

Recruiting with a flier and survey was a great way to get more clients to interview.
The moderated user interviews were a great way to understand the client base and what they wanted to see as well as improvements that we could offer.
Working with a collaborative team made it easier to analyze the data from the interviews into sections and designing the mock-ups made the problems and recommendations more clear and concise.

Reflection

Future Steps

We presented our findings to the center and our team and enjoyed working with them. Going forward, we suggested responsive mobile design testing to ensure seamless user experience, and further testing of the enrollment and donation processes to identify and address any pain points for users and administrators.

Interviews

For the usability test to be conducted smoothly, we structured an interview questionnaire centered around the 4 tasks mentioned above. The interview questionnaire also included pre-task questions and post-task questions which enabled us to capture parents' needs and motivations for using the website for a more comprehensive understanding of the current usability of the website.

Before conducting the interviews, consent to record the session for further analysis and research purposes was sought from the participants. The interviews were moderated in a semi-structured manner leaving room for probing questions.

Analysis

The responses and notes recorded during the usability testing interviews were logged onto a Google spreadsheet for analysis. Emerging patterns and problems were identified through multiple internal huddles with the team, and plausible design solutions were brainstormed as a part of recommendations proposed to the client.

Spreadsheet Used for Analyzing Responses and Notes from the Usability Testing Interviews

Problems & Recommendations

Using Homepage on Mobile View

Problems

Our user study showed that almost 90% of PWCC website users accessed the site via their mobile phones. We also found that most parents preferred to use the homepage for high-level navigation, rather than the navigation menu. However, we identified several minor usability issues that conflicted with the homepage's functionality.

For instance, there was too much promotional information about upcoming short-term events and programs on the homepage. Our pre-test questions indicated that parents were more interested in information about long-term programs, facilities, tuition, schedule, and child development. Unfortunately, the current homepage did not prioritize this information and created confusion between long and short-term programs. Additionally, there was no search feature to help parents find the information they needed without sifting through excessive promotional material.

We also observed that several distinguishing call-to-action buttons such as “Apply for our programs”, “KidsPort 2023”, and “Make a tuition payment” grouped awkwardly together, without any descriptions for context. Finally, we observed that there were certain UI elements on the homepage, containing important program-related information that were only activated on hover. This feature was not supported on mobile devices and worked best for desktop navigation.

Recommendation

To improve the usability of the homepage for parents, we recommend changes to the information hierarchy and UI features, with consideration for mobile responsiveness. Long-term programs should be given more prominence on the homepage, while clear buttons should direct users to other relevant sections.

Call-to-action buttons should be grouped with their descriptions, and visual cues should be used to aid comprehension. A search feature would also help parents quickly find the information they need, while a chat-box option could be considered as an alternative suggestion.

Payment Design Consistency and Methods

Problems

Inconsistency and lack of clarity in payment design and methods on the PWCC website were significant issues found in our user research. Payment pages for tuition and donations utilized a third-party service that disrupted the design flow and caused confusion for users. The payment pages were also unclearly designed, lacked multiple payment options, and could negatively impact PWCC's ability to attract potential donors and retain clients.

To address these issues, we recommend a consistent and user-friendly payment system with clear information and warnings about any third-party services. Payment pages should have a clear design and multiple payment options. This could improve the website's effectiveness and increase user trust in PWCC.

Recommendation

To improve payment design and methods, we suggest creating separate pages for tuition and donation payments. These pages should provide detailed information and links to the external payment site, enhancing the user experience and increasing trust in the website. Communicating the importance of payments can encourage more donations and support for PWCC's mission.

Creating a heads up pop-up to warn users of the next site can help with trust and communication from the Center to the prospects.

Enrollment Into Programs

Problems

In our user study, we found issues with program enrollment. While participants navigated programs well with the navigation bar, they struggled to find enrollment options.

Participants expected to be taken to an enrollment page from the program section and desired more information, like activities, tuition, and a 'schedule a tour' option. Inconsistencies in labeling and content organization between the navigation bar and pages caused further confusion, as some sections were not available on the page. This inadequate sectioning could have contributed to longer page times.

Recommendation

To improve the content sectioning, we suggest using a consistent visual style to differentiate between program types. This will help users quickly identify which section they are in.

To address the enrollment navigation issue, we recommend adding a clear call-to-action button for each program, allowing users to enroll directly instead of using a generic form. This will increase user confidence and match their expectations, resulting in a smoother enrollment experience.

To provide users with more information about the programs, we recommend creating separate pages for each program that can be accessed through a "Learn more" button on the main Learning page. This will prevent overwhelming users with too much information on a single page.

On the program pages, we suggest including details such as program costs, tuition information, transportation options, activities, calendar of events, and food schedules.

Additional Recommendations

In general, our testing found various positives and negatives throughout the user’s experience. To improve the user’s experience overall, this series could be looked at to increase involvement and satisfaction with the site’s design.

The number one thing we would encourage from our testing results is to continue adding videos and animated content, keeping the gallery updated, and consistently adding new photos into the gallery.
The site should continue to have, or prioritize a focus on the center’s activities and the programs they offer.
Regarding the homepage, adding the center’s address and hours to the top of the page is a quick fix for anyone looking to see where the center is located.
Adding extended information on what programs offer and potentially reviews or personalized memos of what prior clients have said about the center’s program and work, was something that was consistently mentioned.
Some users mentioned potentially including the addition of a chatbot into the website, to answer additional questions.
Finally, updating the mission statement to highlight an involvement with parents, would be a useful tactic.

Client Kickoff Interview

Research Outreach​

Interviews and Survey

Insight Synthesis

Client Presentation and Feedback

With this study we interviewed eight participants total to get an overall sense of the population and views of the parents who were currently and previously using the Port Washington Child Center Website most frequently.

​

Users enjoyed the look and feel of the website, particularly the photos of the children and their activities.

The gallery and new/upcoming photos of the center's activities were the most mentioned sections of the website.

The majority of users accessed the website via their mobile phones, highlighting the need for a strong mobile design.

Navigation and language on the site were generally easy to follow, and users were able to complete tasks quickly.

Activities provided by the center were one of the most important things to users, and information about them was a key reason for accessing the site.

Users were most interested in finding out which activities were being provided, as well as details such as the Calendar of Events, activity schedule, and transportation information.

The FAQs on the homepage were useful and easy to use.

Researchers identified issues with mobile design, third-party accessibility, and the program enrollment process that need to be addressed.

After analyzing the research, we found that some main problems had to do with the information layout, the donation pages, and how the programs should be detailed. We have listed the research in our report and presentation slides here.

Recruiting with a flier and survey was a great way to get more clients to interview.

The moderated user interviews were a great way to understand the client base and what they wanted to see as well as improvements that we could offer.

Working with a collaborative team made it easier to analyze the data from the interviews into sections and designing the mock-ups made the problems and recommendations more clear and concise.

Creating a heads up pop-up to warn users of the next site can help with trust and communication from the Center to the prospects.

​In general, our testing found various positives and negatives throughout the user’s experience. To improve the user’s experience overall, this series could be looked at to increase involvement and satisfaction with the site’s design.

The number one thing we would encourage from our testing results is to continue adding videos and animated content, keeping the gallery updated, and consistently adding new photos into the gallery.

The site should continue to have, or prioritize a focus on the center’s activities and the programs they offer.

Regarding the homepage, adding the center’s address and hours to the top of the page is a quick fix for anyone looking to see where the center is located.

Adding extended information on what programs offer and potentially reviews or personalized memos of what prior clients have said about the center’s program and work, was something that was consistently mentioned.

Some users mentioned potentially including the addition of a chatbot into the website, to answer additional questions.

Finally, updating the mission statement to highlight an involvement with parents, would be a useful tactic.

Research Outreach

In general, our testing found various positives and negatives throughout the user’s experience. To improve the user’s experience overall, this series could be looked at to increase involvement and satisfaction with the site’s design.